Toro
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Posts posted by Toro
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What backseatdriver is getting at is that the AF pays you by rank, not by job. So a Capt who works in the finance office gets the same base pay as a Capt flying jets. There are a couple additions like flight pay and hazard pay for aviators/deployed dudes, but the basic pay is based off rank and years in service.
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Shack. I had a Strike Eagle at the Farnborough airshow and the runway was 6900' (NSTFS). The show was so important to USAFE that we got a waiver not only for the runway length, but for the fact that there were no cables.Originally posted by thefranchise:i have been to airshows that have 6000-7000 rwys and have seen F16s there. i would imagine they could land shorter with a waiver or what not.
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Justice 12,
I know exactly who you are and I know exactly what your relation is to this case. You of all people are the last person who can speak about this matter from an unbiased standpoint. I won't call you out 100% right here unless you choose to continue with these posts (reviving a topic that's been dead for almost two months...come on, nothing better to do?), but I will respond with the following-
For the love of God, yes. It's called a Master Question file and they're used throughout the Air Force. We have a large bank of questions to choose from and only a certain number will be on the test.Originally posted by justice12:so it's ok, to have the questions that will be on the tests, (or study guides as you are calling them, but come on we all know that the questions will be on one of those tests) but if you have the questions and the answers, then that is cheating.
This isn't about college tests, this is about the Air Force method of testing. They're completely different. In only your second paragraph you begin to prove how little you know about the subject at hand. And by the way, you most certainly can go on line to get information on college classes. If you want, I'll send you the links to sites that sell papers and tests.I need to go to your colleges then <<snip>>. Plus I couldn't go online and find information on the exact classes that i'm taking.
YGBSM! Every single one of us! All of us were UPT students at some point, so this wouldn't be the case unless we cheated on every single test we've ever taken.Also I don't know how many of you, especially instructors here, have taken a test that they haven't seen yet, come on let the truth come out now.
Once again, it's AF testing, not a college test.I defintely need to go to your school if that is the case and get my doctorate. That would be so easy to get a 4.0.
Yet again you've proven your lack of knowledge on this subject - go ask your acquaintance this question (though he's probably the one who planted it in your cranium). It's flying ability that counts above all else. And by the way, in a tie-breaker, the tests most certainly can make or break you. However, they're not as important as Flight Commander ranking because the latter is the supervisor's overall impression of you as an entire person. That is what I care about when a new guy shows up to my squadron, not whether he tests poorly.if these tests are so important then why are they only 7.5% of a grade, while Flight Commanders ranking can make or break you and that's an opinion.
Send them to my house. I'll tell them that I'm sure it happens in parts of the Air Force.Let's think about this, you do not think that people are scared right now to actually come forward and say that it is true that cheating(or helping each other out, instructors leaving the room, or the table of knowledge) is prevalent when they see that there are people that the military might screw up their whole lives over right now. Come on let's be straight here.
Because most of us are Air Force officers who have 'been there' and 'done that'. You are not.I will get off my soapbox now, just trying to understand how you guys are coming to the conclusion about gouge and cheating.
Once again, it's the military, not the real world - though I do agree it shouldn't be a one mistake Air Force.Also is this a one mistake Air Force that we are living in? No one can actually be "rehibilitated?" I mean even some murderers/pedafiles in jail are rehibilitated and sent back out into the world.
This is the wrong place to 'find justice,' this is a forum for discussing matters of avaiation from all sides, which is exactly what was done.Just trying to find some justice in all this, if that can even happen.If it isn't extremely obvious from what you posted, you do not understand the workings of the Air Force on many different levels and you are extremely biased on this matter because you are indirectly involved.
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You'll take your helmet and mask with you to IFF and on the FTU, but you may have to get a new one fitted with combat edge (if it isn't issued in T-38s...wasn't in my day).
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EvilEagle can confirm, but I believe F-15Cs can land on less than 8000' runways. They weigh a good deal less than the F-15E, and I remember them being able to use alternates with <8K at Lakenheath.
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It's possible, but totally impractical. We always use tankers.Originally posted by Mizzouflyer:When a fighter unit is going to or from the sandbox, do they always go over with a tanker, or is it possible to hopscotch up Newfoundland, Iceland, and back down Europe?
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I have a $40 Casio. I guarantee that if I buy anything more expensive than that I will break/lose it.
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No, that's why I said "age (rank)". You normally hear guys say they're "too old for Weapons School," when it's not actually age that matters, but rank. Unless you can get a waiver, captain is the cut off for application - if the AF is going to invest that much training on an individual they want to be able to get more of a return on their investment.Originally posted by ghost_ttu:are they going to actually look at my age in that equation if I get in the position to try for weapon school?
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As long as you pass the FACT, your score doesn't matter. FACT does not directly weight into the overall ranking. However, if you can't pass it you may not have the best commander's ranking.
Another thing I was wondering about UPT was how a class is stratified at UPT. Basically, what makes the #1 guy in a class #1? Any insight? thanks!
Here's some info on and here's some info on
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Pros,
- As a T-38 FAIP, I got just over 1000 hours in three years. As I've heard many times - it wasn't so much 1000 hours of flight time, it was one hour of flight time 1000 times. That flight time definitely got me better at tac formation, rejoins, and landing, but the airmanship and general flight knowledge is something that hits a plateau in less than three years.
- If you go fighters you can upgrade to flight lead faster at your Ops unit (FAIPs require 200 hours versus the normal 300 to begin).
- If your first choice is not available at your UPT drop, it may be their when you get your next chance three years later (there were no Strike Eagles in my UPT drop). Along with this, your UPT performance plays no part in your post-FAIP assignment. In theory you could finish at the bottom of your UPT class, then get your first choice after your FAIP tour.
- If you're married, it's a great first assignment for the family. The hours are long, but you only 'deploy' for cross countries, and those generally had plenty of volunteers. Along similar lines, it's a great opportunity to get your Masters degree.
Cons,
- By the time you get to your Ops unit, your buddies will all be 4FL instructors. Guys who you gave dollar rides to could be writing your gradesheets in the MQ program. That's not something that bothered me, but some guys don't dig it.
- If you're interested in Weapons School, being a FAIP will make that tough due to three years taken from potential Ops time accrued before you reach the age (rank) limit of applying for Weapons School.
- I mentioned in the Pros that you could get a better aircraft three years later. This can be a double-edged sword...I have a friend who graduated top of his class and chose a FAIP to remain at Columbus with his AD wife. Three years later he got his last choice of assignments.
I personally enjoyed my time as a FAIP. I like being an instructor, I liked the T-38 and if I had a choice I would do it again.
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Not for Strike Eagles. Course, there are only four bases for us, so it's a pretty small pool to choose from anyway.
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What's the GP?
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All depends on who's watching.Originally posted by Dirt Beater:For you fighter/T-38 dudes: how much "buffoonery" like tapping the blowers in the pattern and stuff like that are you allowed to get away with...how often do you see it?
I took a CT T-38 down to Macdill to visit my mom and hang out for the weekend - she told me she had a friend who wanted to meet me. We had some extra gas when we arrived, so we decided to do one closed pattern. The departure end of the runway at MacDill goes past the Burger King, which is where she said she'd be. I do a low approach, plug the burners and get about 400 knots by the departure and pull an aggressive closed. The dude in the back seat quietly says, "Dude, what's your G-meter say?" It was just an RCH over 7 Gs (but under 7.3) - we both would have had our asses handed to us for over-Ging a jet on cross country.
Anyway, we land, button down the jet and are walking into Base Ops when I see an O-6 waiting for us. Now we're crapping our pants because we think he's going to nail us for hot dogging in the pattern. Turns out that was my mom's friend - he was an Naval O-6 NOAA pilot who actually thought the closed looked pretty cool.
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I use the military SGLI for my life insurance, but I use USAA for everything else insurance related. I don't know specifics on life insurance, but I am a big fan of their rates and service for everything else.
Their link is at www.usaa.com
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My wife has taken several trips into and out of Baltimore Washington International (BWI) from England (RAF Mildenhall). Here's some things to note (keep in mind some of these things may be USAFE specific) -
- We had to have an authorization letter from our commander - It was a blanket letter that authorized you to travel Space A. When you submitted that to the terminal, you were eligible to travel for something like six months before renewing the letter.
- The date you sign up for Space A puts you on a priority list. I don't remember the exact priority listing, but it goes something like this -
- Emergency Leave/TDY - Priority 1
- Normal TDY - Priority 2
- PCS - Priority 3
- Permissive TDY - Priority 4
- Space Available - Priority 5
You cannot 'reserve' a spot on the plane with Space A and be guaranteed a spot, you have to put your name on the list then show up the day of the flight and see if there are any seats. Due to FPCON stuff, they generally won't speculate if there will be available seats over the phone. Once you arrive, all the Priority 1-4 passengers are ticketed. After those seats are filled, they start to fill the remaining seats with Space A passengers based on how long you've been on the list. Where this can suck is if you staying in NC (like my wife was) and have to drive five hours to BWI for a Space A flight only to be told there are no seats and you'll have to try again next week. Twice she ended up buying her own commercial ticket.
- Due to all the PCS traffic in and out of BWI, it's probably one of the more difficult spots to fly Space A from. However, as PAB mentioned, BWI is nice due to the fact that the Southwest hub is there and they have inexpensive fares to get you many places in the US.
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They're in a regular AEF cycle like everybody else - many of the locations are classified.Originally posted by scoobs:How often do F-15C's deploy?I know that there isn't much air to air going on.
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Concur. I've got around 80 combat hours and have been to ONW and OIF, but I've never been shot at and I've never dropped or shot a weapon in the AOR. It feels a little funny to count my time as 'combat' when all I did was fly CAP, wait for taskings, hit the tanker, then go home.Originally posted by C-21 Pilot:Better yet, how many folks (myself included) get Combat time doing "very" little in a Combat zone
F-15Cs flew plenty in ONW and OSW. At the time, they rotated the OCA/DCA role with Vipers and Strike Eagles.Originally posted by 123abc:Can you say O I F, or O E F, or O N W, or O S W?....Less so with the F-15C, B-2, B-117 as they are more specialized and less valuable for current operations.
????Before 9/11 I think it was pretty tough to get combat time.In essence, 9-11 turned ONW and OSW into OIF. There were more pilots deployed at a time for ONW and OSW than OIF. While they may not have all been exciting missions, they were all combat sorties once you crossed into the AOR.
jkfaust,
To answer your original question, until we stop flying OIF and OEF, we're going to have plenty of combat sorties to go around.
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I seriously doubt it. Remember that when the assignments are given out at track select, there is one spot for everybody. So if you really want T-1s but T-38s are the only thing left (I've seen it happen), you're getting a T-38. The only way I could see a switch happening is if two people (one from each side) came forward immediately after selecting and said that each had been pressured into their choice by (I've seen this happen as well) and wished to change. Then maybe this could happen.Originally posted by backseatdriver:So if you're still in academics, you can switch?
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You start the program right away, but not flying. You've got a couple weeks of academics and simulators before you get your first flight.Originally posted by backseatdriver:Don't you start T-38s/1s like the day after you track select?
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For those with a little time under their belts, does the Aviator Continuation Pay (Bonus) time include all your flying time, or only rated time?
The verbage on the AFPC ACP website is that "Pilots with a minimum 9 Years of Pilot Aviation Service" are eligible for the bonus. I'm trying to figure out if they consider Aviation Service as the point when pilot training started (and I start receiving flight pay) or if it's 9 years of rated service -- from my UPT date.
I've called finance, MPF, talked to my orderly room and gotten the run around AFPC - nobody seems to have a straight answer. Anybody here who has received the bonus have an answer?
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The FACT test doesn't play into any sort of UPT ranking, so passing is really all that matters.
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Guard/reserve hopefull,
As mphamer said, it's always a good idea to keep as much as you can stand. That being said, here's what I keep from the list you mentioned -
- Orders - I keep 2-3 copies of my PCS orders of my current assignment. Finance rules now say you have to keep your travel vouchers, receipts, and orders for some ungodly amount of time (I want to say seven years), so you'll basically need to keep them in some form or another.
- All Medical records - Not sure how the guard works it, but for AD these are kept at the base clinic. Definitely hang on to anything you have. PhlashNU04 mentioned the shot records; they used to make you maintain these records and if you lost them you were pretty much screwed. Now everything is in the AF-wide system and they're phasing out the records. They'll issue you a printed-out shot record on request.
- SGLI - I keep a copy of this along with my vRED (virtual Record of Emergency Data)
- DD214 - No idea what this is
- Security clearance paperwork. Abso-friggin-lutely. Nothing is more aggravating than losing this information and having to track the addresses of everybody you've ever know to re-submit an SF 86 (the investigation Form). Recommend you also keep an electronic version of the EPSQ.
A couple other suggestions-
- Now that LES are available online from mypay, I save e-versions of this indefinitely.
- As I mentioned, save travel vouchers for seven-ish years.
- I keep just about anything that MPF also has a copy of. This includes OPRs and citations for awards / medals / ribbons.
- Once you start flying, keep a personal copy of all your Form 8s (checkride summaries).
Hilarious! Good call!Originally posted by Clearedhot:If you go to Survival School, make 20 copies of your diploma and send them to different friends. Open a safe deposit box in the Cayman Islands and put three copies there.
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No, it was supposed to be real time. We use ACMI all the time, and this was a step above that. The AWACS controllers were watching aircraft route around 3-D terrain and trying to deconflict flightpaths and determine who was dead. It was a decent job at portraying the chaos of an RTO, but the graphics were silly.Originally posted by gimmeaplane:Was it an AWACS scope or a briefing playback? Range data can be 3d-ified.
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Abso****inglutely terrible.
I went and saw it with a bunch of buddies (all aircrew) and the quote that best summed up the movie was "Man, leave it up to the Air Force to fag up something cool like Red Flag."
Here are just a few of my beefs - rant switch on...
- The main character is an F-15C pilot, yet all the footage is F-15E. WTFO? I know the IMAX makers said something about him being a great candidate because his dad was a pilot, but who gives a crap. He didn't do any acting and IMAX faked everything else, so why not get some F-15E dude and make up some story about his dad being a pilot?
- CGI footage of the planes at low altitude.
- The dude flies a solo F-15 to Nellis. Except for FCFs, OCFs, and wingman aborts, we never fly solo.
- Every time the red flag briefer made an irrelevant comment ("Good morning, today is Thursday"), every person in the room would simultaneously pull out their pens (click-click-click-click-click) and start writing.
- As eowizard pointed out, AWACS scopes weren't even close to real - it looked like something out of Battlestar Galactica...even had real-time HUD footage of the aircraft. Gimme a break.
- Contrary to what IMAX would have you believe, Red Flag does actually consist of more than flying around at low altitude and popping off flares every 6-9 seconds. If I had a quarter for every unnecessary flare that was expended...
- As Wxpunk mentioned, the explosions weren't real. Of everything that blew up, there was only one shot that was not staged and it was very clearly a different quality of film (stock footage).
- Along with that, the F-15s strafed as they were level to climbing. We can't do that - nose has to pointed at the ground.
- After his kill, the Aggressor flight lead "Tractor," clenches his fist and yells out "Yes!". I hope his buddies don't let him live that down. I suggest a replot of for him.
- Total trucker comm during the fights....though not enough of it. Red Flag is an absolute comm nightmare and I don't think they got across the point of how hectic and confusing it really is (they attempted it for about 6-9 seconds in the AWACS, but it could have been played up much more).
So most of you might think I'm being nitpicky and that the stuff I'm complaining about wouldn't matter to the casual observer. Absolutely correct. My beef is that IMAX had a golden opportunity and they pissed it away so they could dumb it down for the masses. There was no need to do that. With only minor changes to the movie that would not have detracted from he overall flow, they could have kept it true to absolute chaos and excitement of Red Flag. Pretty unbelievable that somebody got paid to be a technical advisor to that movie.
Rant switch off.
LASDT
in General Discussion
Posted
E models (and I believe all USAF aircraft) are generally limited to 500' AGL. While there are LOWAT categories qualifying pilots down to 300 and 100 feet, the only place I know of that utilizies these categories is the Weapons School upgrade program.
I was talking to a C model buddy last week and he said they do LOWAT as a currency - similiar to how we will do things like instrument approaches, and formation approaches and landings. It's not something they utilize on a day to day basis, but they need to stay current.